Essay on The Themes of Arrogance, Greed, and Materialism in The Bet

The first thing to address while discussing the author’s purpose is to examine the motivation of the main character, Raskolnikov. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov becomes an ubermensch, and part of this is that he does not take into account

In this paper I will be discussing Pascal’s Wager. What I first plan to do in this paper is explain the argument of Pascal’s Wager. Next I will explain how Pascal tries to convince non-theists why they should believe in God. I will then explain two criticisms in response to Pascal’s argument. Finally, I will discuss whether or not these criticisms show Pascal’s reasoning to be untenable.

In both “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the authors take critical aim at two staples of mainstream values, materialism and tradition respectively. Both authors approach these themes through several different literary devices such as personification and symbolism; however, it is the authors' use of characterization that most develop their themes. We'll be taking a look at the parallel passages in the stories that advance their themes particularly when those passages involve both of the authors' subtle character descriptions, and why this method of character development is so powerful in conveying the authors' messages.

Dystopian stories works depict a negative view of "the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction”. Often these stories have many themes that can relate to the real world. In the dystopian story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, many themes such as false hopes,hypocrisy, ritual, and mob mentality are expressed throughout the story. In the story everyone in a small village gather in the town square for the lottery, whoever gets chosen gets stoned to death by everyone in the town including friends and loved ones. The use of different themes throughout the story relate to the literary devices and universal storytelling elements setting, verbal irony, symbolism, and social cohesion.

In "The Rocking Horse Winner" D. H. Lawrence tells us about the traumatic downfall of an upper middle class family struggling to maintain appearances through habitual overspending. Both the parents with common jobs and "expensive tastes" (pg.646) exploit all their resources to give their family the best; however, it was only to retain their high status in the society. "The Rocking Horse Winner" depicts a common demon we all face; greed, society's need for more possessions and money often drives people to do drastic things.<p>The magnificently decorated house had always been haunted by the unspoken phrase, "there must be more money" (pg.646). "Nobody said it aloud. Just as no one says: We are

Though Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" was written in a different country at a different time, it portrays a timeless theme; greed is a crippling trait of mankind. This message can be seen through the author's use of characterization of both the lawyer and the banker. The banker was a static character; he was greedy from start to finish. The lawyer was a dynamic character and he saw the wrong in his ways and changed them in the end.

The overall theme the reader should take from this story is that blindly following a ritual or a tradition can be very dangerous. The townspeople are so caught up in this tradition that they are not realizing the effects and the damage it is creating the their society. Old man Warner is a very good example of this because the way he sees it there is no problem with the lottery. He believes that it would be detrimental if the town stopped holding these lotteries because the town would take a big step back and go back to primitive times. The reader may find this very ironic because the thought of having an annual human sacrifice for

The Modernist movement took place in a time of happiness, a time of sadness, a time of objects, a time of saving, a time of prosperity, a time of poverty and in a time of greed. Two novels, written by Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, portray this underlying greed and envy better than most novels of that period. These novels, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, show that despite the difference between the 1920s and the 1930s, greed remained a part of human life, whether superficially or necessarily, and that many people used their greed to damage themselves and others.

Rubashov, though a committed Marxist, during his time in the prison seems vexed by the notion that the end justifies the means because he has himself seen that the final result is often not what is seen in the present moment but the truth that becomes apparent only in the light of retrospective thought. Rubashov realizes that it is only history that can pass judgment and thus, the shooting of B. and thirty others by No. 1 will be decided later “He who is in the wrong must pay; he who is in the right will be absolved. That is the law of historical credit;

The article by Thomas Cassidy, points out the instrumental role that greed plays in the modern corporation. Modern Economists have always seen greed as not only a necessary element in the corporate environment, but as also a vital part of the successful evolution of a public company. As the article points out, “Economists from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman have seen greed as an inevitable and, in some ways, desirable feature of capitalism. In a well regulated and well balanced economy, greed helps to keep the system expanding”.

The power of money plays an important role as one of the many symbols in short story. The money the baker wages is used as a symbol for the value of fifteen years of the young lawyer's life that will be spent imprisoned, with no human connection. They are also a symbol for the greed of the young lawyer, who is willing to sacrifice 15 years of his life, either to prove his point in the argument, or for the money. Through the marxist lens the reader would be able to see that money is a motivator and leads people to do things they wouldn't if, money was not in the picture. If the banker and lawyer were both not high member in their society, they would have just debated over the issue and agreed not agree, but because egos and power comes into play the outcome is different.

Other characters in The House of Mirth are not affected by gambling and risk-taking as severely as Lily is because they have the financial means and power to gamble or recover from their mistakes. In the nineteenth-century and more specifically the Gilded Age of New York City, marriage and money were what measured power, so since Lily had neither of those, her position in that society was very fragile. In Victoria Shinbrot’s article “Risk and Subversion in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth”, she ponders the question of Lily’s peers being “ever [so] conscious of the looming perception of her public decline and moral failure”(42). Lily defends her playing by saying that Mrs. Trenor had expected it in exchange for her “prolonged hospitality,”

Regardless of the type of society people live in controversial topics and cowardly individuals can create conflict. The stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway implement this concept. “The Lottery” is about a small town that holds an annual lottery in which the winner will be killed. “Hills like White Elephants” is the story of a couple’s discussion over the decision they must make of whether or not to terminate their pregnancy. The social controversies and the weak female characters in these stories are similar, although their social structure is very different.

When choosing to gamble their hard-earned money and although most do not believe they are going to win, consumers are spending their money on the emotions and feelings the activity of gambling conjures. Consumers gamble because they want to feel the high of an adrenaline rush, escape the pressures of their daily lives, and feel as if they are engaging in risky behavior without actually betting their life in exchange for the rush. The feelings of exuberance and anticipation are most of the package deal in which consumers invest when they make the decision to bet their money inside a casino, or in any other gambling environment. Although consumers know the odds are not stacked in their favor for significant monetary gain, the feelings and

Gambling "Gambling is defined as risking money or something of value on the outcome of an event involving chance when probability of winning or losing is less than certain. "[i] Over the past ten years, Ontario has undergone a dramatic change in gambling attitudes. Since the legalization of gambling in Ontario in 1994, there has been an explosion of gambling opportunities for the public.